ApproveThis manages your Brex Integration approvals.

When Finance Meets Approval Automation

Let’s be real: nobody gets excited about expense reports or card issuance processes. But everyone gets pissed off when money goes missing, approvals take weeks, or Karen from accounting starts another email chain asking why someone bought a $7,000 espresso machine. That’s where combining ApproveThis (the approval automation sidekick) and Brex (the financial operations powerhouse) turns "Oh crap" moments into "We’ve got this" workflows.

Why This Combo Works Like Caffeine for Your Finance Team

Brex handles your company’s money – cards, transfers, spend tracking. ApproveThis handles the decisions about that money. Together through Zapier, they automate the stuff that normally turns into spreadsheet jockeying or Slack chaos. Think:

• Auto-blocking sketchy transactions before they clear
• Issuing new cards without 17 approval emails
• Escalating failed transfers to the right person instantly

For companies between 50-5,000 employees, this isn’t just “nice to have” – it’s how you avoid financial fires when scaling.

Real-World Fixes for Actual Business Bullsh*t

Use Case 1: Kill Unapproved Spending Before It Happens

The problem: Employees buy first, ask forgiveness later. Finance teams waste hours chasing down receipts for $12,000 AWS charges nobody authorized.

The fix: Connect Brex’s pending transactions to ApproveThis via Zapier. Every card swipe triggers an approval request with transaction details. Approvers get an email – click approve/deny. Denied? Transaction gets blocked. Approved? It processes normally.

Who needs this: Tech startups with dev teams pushing cloud costs, agencies with client expenses. Example: A SaaS company stopped $38k in unauthorized software buys last quarter by auto-flagging any IT purchase over $500.

Use Case 2: Stop Being the Card Issuance Department

The problem: HR requests a new card for a hire. Someone emails finance. Finance replies asking for budget codes. Three days later, someone remembers to check Brex.

The fix: When HR submits an approved request in ApproveThis, Zapier auto-creates the Brex card with pre-set limits. New hire starts Monday? Card’s ready Friday without a single “Hey, did you see my email?”

Who needs this: Scaling companies hiring 50+ people/year. Example: A logistics firm reduced card setup time from 5 days to 2 hours for new warehouse managers.

Use Case 3: Fix Failed Transfers Before Vendors Panic

The problem: A vendor payment fails because someone typo’d an account number. Now AP is fielding angry calls while trying to track down who approved the transfer.

The fix: Brex detects a failed transfer → ApproveThis pings the original approver with transaction details and a “Retry?” button. One click either re-sends the payment or escalates it.

Who needs this: Companies with high transaction volumes (500+ monthly). Example: An e-commerce brand reduced late payment fees by 72% by catching failed transfers within 1 hour vs. 2 days.

Setup That Takes Less Time Than a Coffee Run

1. Create a Zapier account (if you don’t have one)
2. Connect Brex and ApproveThis as Zapier apps
3. Pick a trigger (like “Pending Transaction” in Brex)
4. Choose the ApproveThis action (like “Create Approval Request”)
5. Test with a $1 transaction
6. Go live

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-approve small spends (e.g., under $100) and only flag big ones. Saves everyone’s time.

Why Your Teams Will Actually Like This

Finance Teams:

Get audit trails for every decision. No more “I thought Bob approved that” excuses. Real-time dashboards show pending requests, and approval thresholds auto-approve routine spends.

IT Teams:

Stop being the middleman for card access requests. Custom workflows let department heads approve their own team’s cards with pre-set security rules.

Operations:

Onboard new offices or divisions without drowning in setup requests. Vacation delegation ensures someone’s always covering approvals – no single point of failure.

The Cool Stuff Everyone Forgets About

ApproveThis isn’t just a digital rubber stamp. When connected to Brex, you get:

• Approval groups: Require 2/3 VPs to OK big spends, but let junior managers handle smaller budgets
• Email approvals: External vendors can approve invoices without logging into your systems
• Conditional logic: Auto-route travel expenses to department heads, but send legal fees straight to GC

No, You Don’t Need to Buy Brex Licenses for Everyone

Here’s the kicker: Approvers only need ApproveThis access. Your external CPA firm can review expenses in ApproveThis without a Brex login. Same for department heads – they approve the request, ApproveThis talks to Brex behind the scenes.

When to Steal These Ideas

If any of these sound familiar, stop reading and go set up a Zap:

- You’ve had a budget leak (unauthorized SaaS tools, surprise vendor charges)
- Card issuance takes longer than onboarding the employee
- Month-end close includes “mystery transactions”
- Departments constantly exceed budgets because approvals are too slow

TL;DR

Brex handles the money. ApproveThis handles the decisions. Zapier connects them so finance ops aren’t constantly putting out fires. You get control without micromanaging, speed without chaos.

Next step: Register for ApproveThis, connect your Brex account via Zapier, and set up your first approval workflow in 23 minutes flat. Or book a demo if you want to see the sarcastic approval memes our team adds to test workflows.